Pittsburgh City Councilman William Peduto was sworn in as the 60th Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh on Monday, the sixth of January 2014 at 1 pm at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mayor William Peduto today joined a bipartisan group of 104 U.S. mayors from across the nation in a letter to Senate and House leaders calling for the swift passage of legislation that will significantly increase transit, highway and safety program commitments to cities, and provide six years of funding certainty in the transportation reauthorization that is set to expire on July 31.

Mayor William Peduto and the City of Pittsburgh are hosting education and government leaders from around the country the next two days, to discuss Pittsburgh’s education initiatives and study nationwide best practices to support youth.

A unique program launched by the City of Pittsburgh, Google and other partners to help neighborhood small business owners manage their online presence wraps up tomorrow night in East Liberty after a 12-week pilot.

The program, called Connecting Urban Entrepreneurs (CUE), brought together 11 small business owners from Larimer, East Liberty, Garfield, and Homewood to teach everything from creating and maintaining websites to the benefits of social media in reaching potential customers.

The pilot was a collaboration among the City’s Department of Innovation & Performance, Google, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Urban Innovation21, The Center for Women's Entrepreneurship, Davis Consulting Solutions, CEED, Kiva Zip, Bridgeway Capital, and The Kingsley Center.

Healthy Together, the City of Pittsburgh-led outreach effort to enroll children and youth in low to no cost healthcare, is literally getting the band together and taking its act on the road to 10 community events across the city over the next eight weeks to build awareness among residents with March Pittsburgh. March Pittsburgh seeks to continue raising awareness and driving enrollment among the estimated 2,000 youth under 19 years of age in Pittsburgh who qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but are not currently enrolled in public health insurance programs.

National Energy Technology Laboratory to work with local government, universities, energy providers and others to develop citywide strategy on district-scale energy and next generation energy solutions

The National League of Cities (NLC) has selected Pittsburgh to be part of a new national initiative, City Leadership for Building an Early Learning Nation, to improve outcomes during the first five years of life for children in communities across the nation. As part of this initiative, NLC has selected a total of seven cities to participate in an early learning network.

The Office of Mayor William Peduto announced today that the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks and Recreation (Citiparks), in partnership with McCauley Ministries, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Thelma Lovette YMCA, is providing Hill District youth transportation to operating city pools and open swimming hours at the Thelma Lovette YMCA pool.

Mayor William Peduto’s administration demanded today that the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority immediately release $11.38 million in gaming funds owed to the City under state law, which will rise to $20 million by the end of the year.

PITTSBURGH, PA (June 25, 2015) Mayor William Peduto released the following statement today after the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania declared unconstitutional state Act 192, which gave the National Rifle Association legal standing to challenge municipal firearms laws. The City of Pittsburgh last year joined the cities of Philadelphia and Lancaster and several legislators in filing the legal challenge of the Act:

"This law was clearly unconstitutional from the outset, and designed to threaten Pittsburgh and other cities trying to protect their neighborhoods from illegal guns. I'm overjoyed that the court system is joining us in standing up for citizens and public safety instead of special rights for the gun lobby."

Mayor Peduto today released the complete Welcoming Pittsburgh Plan, a community-driven roadmap to build a more welcoming experience for Pittsburgh’s immigrant community and a more livable city for all residents.

Mayor William Peduto today will meet with the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, Liu Yandong.

Vice Premier Liu and Mayor Peduto will engage in a broad-ranging discussion on a variety of issues. The Mayor will discuss Pittsburgh’s industrial heritage and its environmental impact; the region’s transformation and emergence as a sustainability, healthcare, educational and tech hub. Other topics of discussion include Pittsburgh’s sister-city relationship with Wuhan, China; Mayor Peduto's upcoming visit in September 2015; and the collaborative educational relationships between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University and some of their Chinese counterparts.

Mayor William Peduto announced today that the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning has selected a team led by Interface Studio LLC to provide consulting services for the Uptown EcoInnovation District plan.

The City of Pittsburgh is expanding its free summer breakfast, lunch, and snack program for kids and teens to more than 125 locations across the city and will begin serving meals on Monday, June 15. GrubUp will continue year-round, adding out-of-school time meals to all 10 Citiparks sites this fall.

Mayor William Peduto issued an executive order today enacting a long-term, strategic investment and maintenance plan for city owned facilities, as part of the City’s comprehensive fixed asset management system. The Mayor’s plan is to address critical maintenance, bring all public safety, public works, and parks facilities to complete repair within ten years, and develop a recurring capital maintenance program for the next 40 years.

City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks and Recreation Director Jim Griffin released the following statement today to announce that Ammon Pool, in the city’s Hill District, will not open for the Summer 2015 season.

The City of Pittsburgh, joined by 100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), is kicking off the process of developing a comprehensive resilience strategy that will enable the city to better survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks it experiences.

The city-led initiative began today with a “Resilience Agenda Workshop” that brings stakeholders across city government and from the private sector, non-profits, NGO’s and civic groups into the planning process.

It will also start to uncover some of the key threats the city is facing, and some of the resilience building tools and plans it has available to address those threats. In the months following the workshop, the city, led by a new Chief Resilience Officer, will continue to engage those stakeholders, resilience experts, and 100RC staff in drafting the plan. Grant Ervin, the city’s sustainability manager, is being named as Pittsburgh’s Chief Resilience Officer.

Meetings based on outreach from Mayor Peduto and Pittsburgh's growing reputation for innovation; Generating more than $2 million for local economy

posted 6/03/15 @ 10:55 am

Mayor Peduto Announces Welcoming Pittsburgh Plan

On June 1, 2015, Mayor William Peduto today hosted the first-ever naturalization ceremony in Pittsburgh City Council Chambers, in partnership with City Council President Bruce Kraus and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez, followed by the release of the Welcoming Pittsburgh Plan, a community-driven roadmap to build a more welcoming experience for Pittsburgh’s immigrant community and a more livable city for all residents. A snapshot of the plan is available below. The complete plan will be available on June 15th.

“Our best attraction strategy is how we treat, empower, and connect with our current residents, which is why I am calling today for all Pittsburghers to join me in making Pittsburgh a model city for immigrant integration. A city others will look to and see thriving diverse neighborhoods where, whether you are a second generation Italian-American, African-American, Bhutanese refugee, or Latino, you welcome your neighbor because you understand that their success is your success,” said Mayor Peduto.

The Plan was shaped with the guidance of a diverse 40-member advisory council and engaged more than 3,000 community members through multiple community meetings, focus groups, individual interviews, and public surveys.

The City of Pittsburgh will open its 18 outdoor swimming pools on Tuesday, June 9, and launch an initiative to encourage children 15 years and younger to learn to swim and enjoy Citiparks aquatic facilities throughout the summer thanks to an innovative approach by Citiparks in response to Council's efforts to promote free swimming for low and moderate income families with children.

The City of Pittsburgh is joining with Just Harvest to promote a healthy new incentive for food stamps at 14 area farmers markets this summer.

For the first time, for every $5 shoppers spend using their food stamps at participating farmers markets, they will receive an additional $2 coupon to spend on fruits and vegetables. The coupons are called Food Bucks and are available at 13 Fresh Access farmers markets in Allegheny County and one in Washington County.

The City is hosting two Deliberative Forums on the Capital Budget to provide a more robust way for residents to share ideas on 2016 budget priorities. Modeled after the highly successful Police Chief public meetings, these new forums will give neighbors a chance to learn about the budget and add community voices to the budgeting process. Forums are open to every resident of Pittsburgh.

Today, Mayor Peduto and the City of Pittsburgh mark the one-year anniversary of its partnership with Nextdoor, the free and private social network for neighborhoods. The partnership was established to improve citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.

The city’s Public Works and Public Safety departments have been working for weeks with representatives from Heinz Field, the Sports & Exhibition Authority, Allegheny County, the U.S. Coast Guard, Alco Parking and private parking operators in hopes of hosting a fun, safe and clean event at Heinz Field on Saturday, May 30, 2015.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto are proud to support OpenStreetsPGH, a free public event series starting again this Sunday encouraging healthy, outdoor activity in a unique city setting.

On the last Sundays in May, June and July, people of all ages are being invited to play, shop, exercise and re-think ways to use their city spaces. Three-and-a-half miles of streets will be closed to cars each Sunday morning from Market Square in Downtown to Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville along Penn Avenue and Butler Street.

The May 31st morning event from 8 a.m. to noon includes the debut of “Healthy Ride,” the bike share system of of 50 stations and 500 bikes around Pittsburgh.

The City of Pittsburgh will open its newest aquatic facility, Burgwin Spray Park in Hazelwood, on Saturday, May 23.

City leaders and employees will join the public in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Noon on Saturday. Councilman Corey O’Connor and Parks and Recreation Director Jim Griffin are scheduled to be in attendance. The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at the intersection of Johnston Avenue and Mansion Street, when the free aquatic facility will open for weekend operation until schools recess in early June.

The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is holding a community convening Thursday in East Liberty to discuss its national project on police-community relations. The event at the Kingsley Association is open to the public.

The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is a three-year, $4.75 million project funded by the Department of Justice and announced by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Its goal is to improve relationships and increase trust between communities and the criminal justice system, as well as to advance the public and scholarly understandings of the issues contributing to those relationships.

New changes are underway at the Department of Permits, Licenses & Inspections to make it more customer-friendly and efficient for Pittsburgh residents and businesses, Mayor William Peduto announced today.

The changes spearheaded by PLI Director Maura Kennedy include upgrades to the department’s technology and its staffing. PLI currently has more code and senior inspectors than it was had in years, without increasing its budget: Director Kennedy has been shifting staff away from time-consuming clerical positions to hands-on duties through the increased use of technology.

All this is happening during a boom in work for the office: the number of permits issued through April (1,151) is 30% higher than the same period last year, and the $287.3 million value of those permits is 128% higher in that period. From 2012 to 2014 the total permits almost doubled from $391 million to $769 million.

Mayor William Peduto’s Welcoming Pittsburgh Initiative is partnering with Citiparks to present the Spark! Film Series at this summer’s Dollar Bank Cinema in the Park. Spark! includes a vibrant lineup of films that feature stories from diverse cultures. The series seeks to bring together Pittsburghers of all backgrounds and spark an engaging cultural dialogue.

Seeking to increase diversity within the ranks of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the City of Pittsburgh signed a legal agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union today to secure cutting-edge improvements to police hiring methods.

Moving to address interrelated housing and vacant and abandoned property issues facing neighborhoods citywide, Mayor William Peduto today named the full membership of Pittsburgh’s Land Bank Board and its Affordable Housing Task Force.

“The Land Bank and the Affordable Housing Task Force are both building blocks essential to the comprehensive planning for our city, and will work on parallel tracks to help strengthen all Pittsburgh communities,” Mayor Peduto said. “Some of our neighbors are struggling to secure housing, while others are seeing their communities lag behind due to unsafe nuisance properties. These groups will work in tandem to address the interlocking issues.”

Mayor William Peduto today announced that the City of Pittsburgh has joined the Cities United initiative, a national network of communities focused on eliminating violence in American cities related to African American men and boys.

Pittsburgh officials joined thirteen U.S. mayors and more than 300 city leaders at the 2nd annual convening of Cities United conference in Philadelphia this week. During the three day conference, 57 municipalities are working to develop concrete action plans to reduce the violence plaguing African-American men and boys in communities across the nation.

At these upcoming public meetings, the City of Pittsburgh will provide an overview of coordinated planning efforts in the corridor along Fifth and Forbes avenues, including Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, and other East End neighborhoods. This will involve a review of ongoing planning for transit improvements, including bus rapid transit (BRT), and upcoming planning for an EcoInnovation District in the Uptown neighborhood.

During “Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day” April 23rd the City of Pittsburgh will join in an effort by President Barack Obama to include young people typically unable to participate in the work activities of parents.

Mayor William Peduto joined other city officials today to unveil a new, mobile asphalt machine that can produce hot asphalt around the clock, and give the city a powerful new weapon to combat potholes.

Mayor William Peduto is pleased to announce that William Demchak, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the PNC Financial Services Group, has agreed to serve as chairman of the newly formed Envision Downtown Advisory Committee.

Mayor Peduto and Mr. Demchak have asked 24 civic and community leaders to help develop and guide to implementation projects which will improve mobility, accessibility, and livability in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Mayor William Peduto announced the City’s commitment to adopt a complete streets policy for Pittsburgh’s public rights of way.

The Mayor issued an Executive Order calling on the City Planning Director to work with all city departments, authorities and agencies to develop a complete streets policy and framework to guide the design, construction, maintenance, and use of the city’s public rights of way.

The City of Pittsburgh, as part of the Welcoming Economies Global Network, joins with cities and economic development agencies from various Great Lakes states in a Day of Action today – highlighting the cost local economies face under the current H-1B visa cap imposed by the federal government.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation (CITIPARKS) is now accepting proposals for a contract to perform custodial and cleaning services at the city’s twenty-two (22) Recreation and Healthy Active Living (Senior) centers.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works has released its 2015 street paving list. For the first time in city history, the projected plan for the entire paving season - approximately 44 miles - is available to the public via the new Department of Public Works Street Paving Program website.

Mayor William Peduto today recognizes the valuable service of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps volunteers in Pittsburgh as part of the third annual Mayor’s Day of Recognition for National Service. Along with Mayor Peduto, more than 2,000 mayors across the country are highlighting the impact of national service in tackling city problems.

The City of Pittsburgh is partnering with the Boilermakers Local 154 and Homewood Brushton Community Ministries to host the first Boilermakers “Guns for Opportunity” event in the city. The collection will take place on Monday, April 6, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Bible Center Church, 717 North Homewood Avenue.

We are very pleased that the judge agreed to issue an emergency order today requiring that the historic Brashear time capsule be held in custody by the Heinz History Center. The capsule is now safely in the hands of trained professionals, which was our ultimate goal.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation (Citiparks) will be accepting proposals for a contract to perform custodial and cleaning services at the city’s twenty-two (22) Recreation and Healthy Active Living (Senior) centers beginning April 8, 2015.

Mayor William Peduto, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation and the citizens and business owners in the Penn Avenue corridor are excited at the news from the ALDI grocery stores chain that it will be opening a new store at 5200 Penn Avenue.

Mayor William Peduto made the following statement today on the announcement that the H.J. Heinz Co. will merge with Kraft Foods Group Inc.

"I am very pleased that the announced merger between Heinz and Kraft expressly includes a continued commitment to Pittsburgh, both in terms of job creation with the retention of the headquarters of the Heinz division in our city, as well as their continued civic commitment to our neighborhoods. Heinz has been part of the fabric of our city for over a century, and we look forward to building upon that legacy for decades to come."

Mayor William Peduto and the Pittsburgh cluster of CEOs for Cities will hold a workshop June 10-12 for mayors, university presidents, and foundation, business and nonprofit leaders from around the nation.

Lights out, Pittsburghers. On Saturday, March 28, more than 50 buildings and monuments in Downtown and Oakland will celebrate Earth Hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Led by Green Building Alliance’s Pittsburgh 2030 District partners, the City of Pittsburgh, and other key partners (listed below), dozens of buildings in Downtown and Oakland will turn off their non-essential lighting. The result will be a dramatic shift in the city’s skyline and an increased awareness of environmental issues.

Mayor William Peduto named a committee of more than 25 civic leaders to help him plan events around the 200th anniversary of the City’s incorporation.

The 200th Anniversary committee will be charged with planning celebrations around the anniversary throughout next year. A signature event will feature descendants of Ebenezer Denny, the city’s first Mayor, and as many relations as can be located every Mayor since.

Welcoming Pittsburgh, an initiative of Mayor William Peduto, kicked off its community outreach phase at the Hill House with the first of five community events. To increase its reach, Welcoming Pittsburgh also launched a citywide survey to hear from all who live, work, and play in Pittsburgh and to learn what is needed to build a more welcoming experience for our growing immigrant community. Visit welcomingpittsburgh.com for more information and to take the survey.

Mayor William Peduto announced the 15 organizations that will receive funding for the eighth round of the Love Your Block (LYB) grant program, a servePGH initiative.

Through the block revitalization program, in partnership with The Home Depot, Peoples Gas and PNC, the City awards $1,000 to purchase supplies and tools to implement a block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers to transform blighted lots into community assets. Additionally, a special $2,000 prize will be given to the organization that carries out the most successful block transformation, according to identified criteria. Spring project implementation will take place from April 25 to June 30, 2015.

City of Pittsburgh officials announced plans for a safe, fun and clean atmosphere for tens of thousands of visitors expected in Downtown and the South Side Saturday for St. Patrick’s Day parade festivities.

Motorists should expect delays and street closures Downtown after 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning from the parade staging area on Liberty Avenue from 11th Street east to 26th Street in the Strip District. The parade starts Downtown at 10 a.m. at Liberty Avenue and Grant Street, goes to the Boulevard of the Allies and finishes at a grandstand at Stanwix Street.

Streets should begin reopening by 1 p.m., but those attending other Downtown events -- including the 1 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins game at Consol Energy Center and the Home & Garden Show starting at 10 a.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- should plan for delays or consider taking public transit.

Mayor William Peduto is one of 17 municipal officials nationwide who has been named to a bipartisan 2016 Presidential Election Task Force by the National League of Cities.

The task force will seek to raise the visibility of city issues during the upcoming presidential election cycle, and develop an actionable plan that includes tools and resources for NLC members to engage candidates on city issues.

The City of Pittsburgh will conduct an around-the-clock pothole blitz next week for three straight days beginning Tuesday night.

Weather permitting, Department of Public Works crews will begin filling potholes citywide starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, and finish at 6 p.m., Friday, March 13. Crews will work during night and day shifts for 72 hours, while also attending to rubbish and riverfront cleanup from storms and flooding this week.

Residents are encouraged to submit pothole repair requests to the City of Pittsburgh 311 Response Center. The “blitz” efforts will be based on 311 submissions, as well as problem areas identified by Public Works supervisors.

Due to Thursday's weather conditions the Department of Public Works is suspending refuse service for the day. On Friday crews will attend to the Thursday locations in addition to regular Friday pickups.

A panel of national design experts from the Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership, jointly operated by the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), delivered its report today on redevelopment plans for the 178-acre Almono site in Hazelwood.

The report was the result of site visits and meetings with local stakeholders this week, and contains recommendations on promoting revitalization plans for both the development site and the adjacent Hazelwood neighborhood; transportation; and sustainability.

After a year of work, Mayor William Peduto’s Education Task Force released a wide-ranging set of policy recommendations today to foster further collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and support children and families in the city.

The committee’s first goal is to write a Greater Pittsburgh Region MBK Playbook. This document will outline effective strategies that are working to support the success of young men of color, and ways to implement these strategies locally.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works crews have been treating roadways throughout the city during today's winter weather event. A forecast for 2" to 4" is in effect until Noon on Sunday, February 15.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works has announced that park shelter reservations will be accepted online and in person starting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.

The city will no longer host an annual Permit Day for in person registration, as in past years. In person reservations will still be accepted at the Public Works Permit Office starting at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 17.

The City of Pittsburgh today announced the launch of Fiscal Focus Pittsburgh, a new financial data platform powered by OpenGov.com that provides the public, City officials and the media unprecedented access to city budget data. The powerful visualization software transforms volumes of raw data into an intuitive, digital format that improves access, understanding and analysis of the budget. The platform may be accessed here and followed on Twitter.

Mayor William Peduto expressed strong support today for a resolution that will extend the 2% Real Estate Tax discount deadline from February 10 to February 28, 2015. The resolution was offered by Councilman Dan Gilman.

The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works Bureau of Transportation and Engineering, in conjunction with HDR, Inc., is holding a public meeting to review the final plans for the replacement of the Greenfield Avenue Bridge. The meeting will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at St. Rosalia Catholic Church, 411 Greenfield Avenue, Wuerl Hall.

Replacement of the 94-year-old bridge begins with its closure in the fall of 2015 with demolition of the existing bridge to be completed the last week of December, between Christmas and New Year's Day.

“I want to thank these partners for joining with me and realizing not only the tremendous positive impact this show is having on Pittsburgh’s reputation, but also that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help people through struggling times,” Mayor Peduto said.

The City of Pittsburgh today launched the first phase of the Online Facility Reservations website. For the first time in city history, residents can now visit the new registration site, create an online account and view available facilities.

Transformational plans for the redevelopment of the Hill District will go ahead under the leadership and cooperation of local elected officials, the Hill District community and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Leaders reached an agreement Monday that clarified the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan (CCIP) for the Lower Hill introduced in September, and clears the way for the development of the new headquarters for U.S. Steel that will anchor the redevelopment of the 28 acre former Civic Arena site.

The agreement means the development of the headquarters remains on schedule, as do plans for Greater Hill District Reinvestment Fund that will invest more than $20 million in projects across Middle and Upper Hill District neighborhoods.

Mayor William Peduto has been appointed the co-chair of the National League of Cities (NLC) Council on Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Council) for 2015. The Council guides and oversees the work of NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute).

The membership of the YEF Council, unlike other NLC committees or councils, is composed of not only local elected officials but also youth members and representatives from national organizations working to improve the welfare of children and families. The appointment was made in December 2014 by NLC President Ralph Becker, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mayor William Peduto announced today that the City of Pittsburgh has launched a pilot version of the Snow Plow Tracker website. The website is designed to give residents a real-time update on the current location and travel history of Public Works vehicles during a winter weather event.

Mayor William Peduto announced today that applications are available for the servPGH Spring 2015 Love Your Block grant award program. The block revitalization program gives organizations up to $1,000 in funds and donated supplies for a neighborhood block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers. Projects will be implemented from April 25 to June 30, 2015. Applications are available online at: http://www.pittsburghpa.gov/servepgh/loveyourblock.

The City of Pittsburgh Public Works crews have been treating roadways throughout the city during this morning's winter weather event.

Crews began pre-treating roads late last night in anticipation of a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service at 2:33 a.m. The forecast called for between 1-3 inches for the Pittsburgh region and is in effect until 1:00 p.m. today.

Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh -- working in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University -- will build joint technology infrastructure that will provide leaders and citizens with data-driven tools to improve the effectiveness of local government.

The Richard King Mellon Foundation has awarded $1.8 million to fund the first 18 months of the effort, supporting three major initiatives.

There will be no new nighttime parking meter enforcement Downtown next year under an agreement reached between Mayor William Peduto and City Council, and evening enforcement in the South Side will be subject to a new comprehensive parking plan for the neighborhood.

Council approved the parking amendments while issuing final approvals to the $507.8 million operating budget and the city capital budget the Mayor proposed in November.

“This is a banner day for Pittsburgh. With the help of City Council and our financial overseers -- and especially our residents and employees -- this budget clears a path to fix our financial problems for good over the next five years,” Mayor Peduto said.

Mayor William Peduto’s plan to overhaul the Bureau of Building Inspection and make it more efficient for neighborhoods, businesses and city residents was finally approved by Pittsburgh City Council.

The new Department of Permits, Licenses & Inspections -- to be overseen by current BBI Chief Maura Kennedy -- will keep working closely with Public Safety bureaus while also upgrading technology and establishing a modern permitting department better suited to a growing city.

Mayor William Peduto released the following statement in regard to the grand jury decision in the August shooting in Ferguson, Missouri:

“Ferguson may be hundreds of miles away, but the reverberations from August’s shooting are still felt, understandably, in Pittsburgh and other cities nationwide. I know it is hard right now, but it is my fervent hope that in coming days we can use this decision as an opportunity to come together -- in peace and in prayer -- to do the necessary work of strengthening ties between residents and police, and finding new paths to mutual trust and understanding.”

PITTSBURGH, PA (November 24, 2014) - Mayor William Peduto along with Councilmembers Dan Gilman and Natalia Rudiak will hold a press conference in Beechview tomorrow to launch “Small Business Week” in the City of Pittsburgh.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works advises that evening closures of the southbound lane of Wood Street at Forbes Avenue will begin on Monday, November 24, 2014, as part of the infrastructure improvements to Forbes Avenue downtown.

This work will occur every evening from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. until approximately December 24, 2014. A detour is in place for thru-traffic.

Mayor William Peduto is backing moves to make city parking free on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving in support of neighborhood small businesses.

Thursday, the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh is expected to discuss making parking free in city surface lots Nov. 28 and 29, and Monday City Councilman Dan Gilman is expected to introduce a Will of Council waiving collections at on-street parking meters those days.

Mayor William Peduto has been selected as a 2015 Rose Center for Public Leadership fellow, which will allow Pittsburgh to receive guidance on land use challenges from a team of national design experts.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works has postponed the three-day “Pothole Blitz” for one week due to current inclement weather conditions.

“DPW intended to do a pothole blitz over the next three days, however, Mother Nature had different plans,” said Public Works Director Mike Gable. “Due to the weather conditions and temperatures, we are rescheduling the 'blitz' for November 24 through 26 and we ask that residents please continue to submit the potholes that need attention to the 311 Response Center.”

The City of Pittsburgh announced today that a three-day Pothole Blitz will take place next week, starting on Monday, November 17th and lasting through Wednesday, November 19th.

Crews from the Department of Public Works will work extended 12-hour shifts from 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. each day to prepare city streets one final time before winter weather arrives. In the instance of inclement weather, work schedules may fluctuate.

Residents are encouraged to submit pothole repair requests to the City of Pittsburgh 311 Response Center. The “Blitz” efforts will be based on 311 submissions.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works advises that Forbes Avenue from Smithfield Street to Wood Street will be closed beginning Monday, November 10, 2014, for approximately eight months. A detour will be posted. Pedestrian access to the businesses will be available at all times.

"Just as this budget is a blueprint to build upon our successes, invest in our infrastructure, and provide opportunities to residents and neighborhoods citywide, what we are building here will also put the rest of the country and even the world on notice.

The improvements we are putting in place, together, will be a model for cities everywhere to solve the challenges facing all of us, and will prove to all who left us for dead only 20 years ago that Pittsburgh is back -- and ready for our next opportunity."

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works advises that Edgebrook Avenue from Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard) to Bellaire Avenue will be closed on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7 a.m. and will reopen Friday, November 7, 2014 at 3 p.m. The closure is for resurfacing and related road work.

This restriction is for through traffic only. Residents living on Edgebrook Avenue will still be able to access their properties.

Mayor William Peduto celebrated his 50th birthday by receiving his official AARP membership card at a ceremony at the City-County Building.

“On behalf of AARP and its more than 175,000 members throughout Allegheny County, we want to wish a warm and very happy 50th birthday to Mayor William Peduto as he reaches this very special milestone,” said AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh. “Not only is Pittsburgh recognized as America’s Most Livable City, the region is also home to the state’s most dense population of 50+ adults.”

Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh are putting out a county-wide call for volunteers to help our elderly and disabled residents stay safe this winter through the Allegheny Snow Angels program.

Snow Angels is a program that helps minimize the hardships of winter by pairing volunteers with elderly or disabled residents to assist with snow removal. Snow covered sidewalks can be hazardous for everyone. Along with fostering stronger community relationships, and relieving some of the stress that comes from a snow storm, Snow Angels makes our sidewalks safer for those who continue to serve despite the winter weather – like postal service workers, firemen, and police officers.

The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works, Bureau of Environmental Services will be collecting leaf and yard debris from all residents in a special curbside collection on Saturday, November 8, 2014.

Yard debris should be placed at your normal collection site on Friday, November 7. All yard debris materials will be collected by city refuse and recycling crews and composted on Saturday November 8.

The City of Pittsburgh, affiliated city agencies, and the Green Building Alliance won a $470,000 state grant Thursday to provide more energy-efficient lighting for parking garages.

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority award will be used initially to retrofit lighting at the First Avenue garage Downtown and the Pittsburgh Technology Center garage in South Oakland, and seed a Lighting Infrastructure Fund to provide efficient lighting upgrades at other municipal and privately owned garages.

Through the retrofit the garages are targeting a 50% cut in energy consumption, placing them 20% lower than the national medium average for parking garage energy use.

The City of Pittsburgh, working with partners in Allegheny County and other community leaders, is taking further steps to implement the local version of President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, which is seeking ways to provide more opportunities to boys and young men of color.

The Environmental Services Bureau of the Department of Public Works advises that there will be no refuse collection in the city on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Collections the rest of the week will follow a holiday schedule: residents with regular Tuesday collections should put out their refuse on Wednesday, those with Wednesday collections on Thursday, and so on through the week. The Environmental Services Bureau will work through Saturday to pick up all neighborhood refuse.

Operations are being suspended for the Tuesday funeral of Environmental Services worker Omar Hodges.

Mayor William Peduto and Acting Chief of Police Cameron McLay will be panelists in a community forum tonight to discuss police/community relations in the City of Pittsburgh. The panel, hosted by Essential Pittsburgh's Paul Guggenheimer, will also include former police officer Sheldon Williams and Brandi Fisher, president of Alliance for Police Accountability. The discussion will be broadcast live on 90.5 FM, WESA.

The National League of Cities is awarding Pittsburgh a $50,000 grant to create programs providing children with afterschool and summer meals.

The city’s goal is to increase participation in the programs by 10% next summer. Commencing in February 2015, Citiparks will be embarking on a comprehensive out of school time program offering that will enhance the feeding initiative.

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works advises that Library Road, SR 88, will be closed on Sunday, September 28, 2014, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and Noon. The street closure will enable the removal of large debris from the roadside between McNeilly Road and Saw Mill Run Boulevard, SR 51. Motorists will need to use alternate routes and allow extra time.

Code for America will send technology experts to Pittsburgh next year to help the Peduto Administration’s efforts to bolster innovation in city government, it was announced at the annual Code for America Summit in San Francisco today.

Code for America is a volunteer year-of-service program in which experienced technologists join with governments to tackle local challenges, build applications to solve them, and test the results. Over the past four years, 130 Fellows have produced more than 55 web apps for 30 municipal governments.

In Pittsburgh the Fellows will be working to bring efficiency and transparency to city purchasing, a complicated process by which the city buys everything from office supplies to fire trucks, and organizes public bids and requests for proposals from interested vendors.

"I am honored and excited that Pittsburgh is joining with Code for America to build the city's reputation for innovation and transparency. We look forward to working in particular on new approaches to procurement that drive increased community participation, and in so doing, build the digital capabilities of our great city,” Mayor William Peduto said. “I know the Fellows can learn from us -- and us from them -- as we work together to make government better for city residents."

Today the City of Pittsburgh joins numerous organizations across the city in celebration of PARK(ing) Day. City employees, local civic groups, artists, business owners and others will create installations in metered parking spaces in neighborhoods throughout the city. The project is designed to help residents re-imagine the way public space is used and to create temporary art and/or parks for the general public to enjoy.

The City of Pittsburgh will have two installations along Fourth Avenue between Ross Street and Grant Street, adjacent to the City-County Building.

The City of Pittsburgh and Welcoming Pittsburgh will celebrate National Welcoming Week with a formal unveiling of an exhibit in the lobby of the City-County Building Friday, September 19 at 10am. Mayor Peduto will issue a proclamation followed by statements from Luis Clemente. The event will conclude by 10:30 a.m.

The City of Pittsburgh will hold two public hearings to seek public comment from interested citizens, community organizations, and the business community on the 2015 Capital Budget. These hearings are separate from the 2015 Community Development Block Grant Program hearings.

The Capital Budget funds projects to build or renovate City assets such as bridges, roads, parks, and buildings. It also supports long-lasting programs to strengthen neighborhoods and improve quality of life. These public hearings allow Pittsburghers to voice opinions about where they feel City resources are best spent.

Both hearings will begin at 6:00 PM and will be held at the following locations:

Mayor William Peduto joined other officials to announce historic agreements among the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hill District community and local government that will transform the entire neighborhood and provide tens of millions in financing for community improvements, jobs and housing.

“This plan will build transformational wealth for the residents of the greater Hill District,” Mayor Peduto said. “It provides the financial resources to build the ladders of opportunity between the 28 acres and the rest of the Hill District.”

PITTSBURGH, PA - “The city promised a fair and thorough investigation of a June 15 arrest at the PrideFest parade. That investigation is now completed, and a final report by the Office of Municipal Investigations, including an analysis completed by an independent consultant, has determined that the officer involved did not use excessive force.

Mayor William Peduto is scheduled to appear this Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" with new moderator Chuck Todd.

Mayor Peduto is set to appear in a discussion of how he and other mayors across the United States are leading changes in American governance, along with Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland.

An interview with President Barack Obama will lead the inaugural broadcast by Todd, the network's political director and former chief White House correspondent.

Locally, the broadcast is set for 10 a.m. Sunday, September 7, on WPXI-TV. "Meet The Press" is the longest-running broadcast in American televison history.

Mayor William Peduto and Public Safety Director Stephen A. Bucar today announced the hiring of Cameron McLay as the next Chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

McLay is a leadership development consultant for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, instructing in dispersed ethical leadership, and a former Captain of Police with the Madison, Wis., Police Department. He has 35 years of police experience, and is a specialist in organizational leadership and community policing.

“Cam McLay is exactly what Pittsburgh Police need in a leader -- a person of integrity who believes in collaborating with city residents to reduce crime, and in building trust and sound judgement among his fellow officers,” Mayor Peduto said.

Mayor William Peduto’s Healthy Together enrollment campaign, made possible thanks to a $200,000 grant from the National League of Cities (NLC), partnered Thursday with the United Way of Allegheny County and Ready Freddy to reach families at Pittsburgh Langley K-8 on the first day of kindergarten.

The Mayor encouraged kids to start the school year strong and stressed the importance of healthcare coverage to parents – an essential ingredient for a healthy and successful school year. The Consumer Health Coalition (CHC) was onsite providing free enrollment services to parents eager to learn more about their healthcare options. Families across the region who are interested in learning about coverage options should contact CHC at 412-456-1877 or visit www.consumerhealthcoalition.org.

The City of Pittsburgh today announced the installation of a third protected bike lane as part of the two-year long PeopleForBikesGreen Lane Project program that was announced in March.

The next protected bike lane will occupy the former eastbound lane of Penn Avenue from 6th Street Downtown to 16th Street in the Strip. The eastbound -- or outbound -- lane of Penn Avenue between 6th Street and 16th Street will be closed to motor vehicle traffic.

Mayor William Peduto today named a Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Early Childhood Education to help the city seek funding for a preschool development grant program the White House announced in the Hill District earlier this month.

Mayor William Peduto, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and local community leaders have issued the following statements highlighting unity and safety in advance of a nationwide demonstration scheduled to take place in 37 cities tonight, including Pittsburgh.

Mayor William Peduto today announced the members of the city’s Welcoming Pittsburgh Advisory Council, whose work will shape the initiative over the next three years.

Launched on May 28, Welcoming Pittsburgh is a citywide initiative designed to celebrate the city’s immigrant past and build a more welcoming future. The first step in its implementation is a 40-member advisory council that will determine Welcoming Pittsburgh’s work over the coming years.

Mayor William Peduto today launched one of Europe’s leading sustainability conferences, the Futureperfect Festival, and promoted Pittsburgh’s efforts to create globally recognized development practices that promote innovation, equity and development.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to Pittsburgh today on the first of a two day community forum to discuss early childhood education initiatives in Pittsburgh.

Children who receive high-quality early childhood education are better prepared to succeed in elementary and secondary classrooms, and be positioned for employment. Yet of the 10,000 children in Pittsburgh between ages one and five, less than half are provided with any form of education before kindergarten.

To help rectify that the U.S. Department of Education, National League of Cities and the Peduto Administration are jointly holding two days of community discussions on best models for providing high quality early education opportunities for all city children.

“Pittsburgh Public Schools and Mayor Peduto are working tirelessly to expand access to high-quality early childhood programs across the city,” Secretary Duncan said. “I commend the mayor and other city leaders for their work to give Pittsburgh’s babies a strong start for success in life.”

Mayor William Peduto today announced the 14 organizations that will receive funding for the seventh round of the Love Your Block (LYB) grant program, a servePGH initiative. Through the block revitalization program, in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, Peoples Gas and PNC, the City awards $1,000 to purchase supplies and tools to implement a block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers to transform blighted lots into community assets. Additionally, a special $3,000 prize will be given to the organization that carries out the most successful block transformation, according to identified criteria. Fall project implementation will take place from August 31 to October 31, 2014.

On August 13, Mayor William Peduto and the National League of Cities will host U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education and community officials on the first of a two day community forum to discuss early childhood education initiatives in the City of Pittsburgh.

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the outlook on Pittsburgh’s bond rating Thursday, following their first meeting with Mayor William Peduto and other administration officials. This follows Standard & Poor's maintaining their rating on the city's fiscal health.

“I want to thank Moody's and Standard & Poor's for these reports. They confirm that the long-term changes we are making to city spending will deliver a brighter financial future for Pittsburgh for decades,” Mayor Peduto said.

Mayor William Peduto will host a roundtable discussion today on efforts to make Pittsburgh a hub for accelerator groups and co-working spaces.

It will be the third roundtable hosted by the Mayor on innovative new business models, following meetings on the Maker movement and Clean Technology. Next week his final roundtable will be on Startup companies.

“For government to grow and change it has to listen more, and that’s what these roundtables are all about,” Mayor Peduto said. “I am pushing every part of my administration to flip the old, top-down government paradigm and learn from those on the ground doing the hard work making Pittsburgh a technological leader.”

Mayor William Peduto issued the following statement on plans by the Holy Family Institute in Emsworth to host immigrant children fleeing Central America:

“I know there have been concerns in some communities about sheltering children from Central America, but in Pittsburgh I want to be clear that they are welcome, and the good works of the Holy Family Institute and the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh have my full support.

I will be working with officials from the Diocese, Allegheny County and the foundation community on joint ways to assist these humanitarian efforts.”

Mayor William Peduto will host a roundtable Thursday with local Clean Technology leaders, and discuss ways the city can better support this growing movement.

Clean technology is where business solutions intersect with environmental challenges. Among other things it is the study of how energy systems can be created that provide reduced or no carbon impact, or how building materials can improve efficiency and costs while reducing pollutants or supply chain impacts.

Pittsburgh is already a leader in the corporate, start-up and non-profit clean technology sector and Mayor Peduto’s roundtable will discuss further ways to support its growth.

“I want to thank the Pirates, private parking lot owners, Pittsburgh police, medics and refuse crews for executing the plans we made together,” said Mayor William Peduto, who toured lots outside the Jason Aldean concert Saturday. “Most of all I need to thank the concert-goers. All along we wanted to make an atmosphere for the fans that was enjoyable, but also safe and respectful. Working together we were able to make things better, though there is still work to do.”

The governing board of the National League of Cities has chosen Pittsburgh as the site of its 2016 Congress of Cities and Exposition, which will draw thousands of local government officials from around the country to the city.

That year will also mark the 200th anniversary of Pittsburgh city government.

"I want to thank the NLC for this honor, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to show off Pittsburgh to fellow government officials from around the nation,” Mayor William Peduto said. “It’s going to be a great birthday.”

“I want to thank the Public Utility Commission for clearing the way for ride-sharing services to operate in Allegheny County. This unanimous vote underscores Pittsburgh’s leadership in supporting 21st Century transportation options, and I will keep working with the PUC and others in Harrisburg to allow for them permanently.”

PITTSBURGH, PA (July 22, 2014) The city’s Public Works and Public Safety departments have been working for weeks with the Pirates, the Sports & Exhibition Authority, the Coast Guard, and private parking operators in hopes of hosting a fun, safe and clean event for Saturday night’s concert at PNC Park.

“The city of Pittsburgh stands ready to welcome the more than 38,000 fans coming here to enjoy a good time on the North Shore Saturday, but has put plans in place to make sure all fans are safe and respectful at the same time,” Mayor William Peduto said.

Mayor William Peduto and top aides will take questions together from the community Thursday night in the city’s first “Mayor’s Night On(line).”

Those wishing to ask questions or follow the proceedings may go to:http://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/. The Mayor will take questions during the “Ask Me Anything” session from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17, and direct them to individual Chiefs and department directors for follow-up answers.

According to Reddit, this local government AMA with representatives from each major department participating is a first for the 9-year-old social networking and news site.

The National League of Cities (NLC) has awarded Pittsburgh a $200,000 grant for a program to enroll all eligible city children and youth in affordable health care plans.

After months of planning and groundwork by the city and its partners, the NLC announced Pittsburgh as one of eight cities nationwide that will receive funding to implement the program, which seeks to find children and youth under 19 years of age who qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but who are not currently enrolled in public health insurance programs.

"Like so many before him, Lorin Maazel came here as a child and now departs us as a man whose life's work has added to the lustre of his adopted home town.

Raised in Oakland, educated at Peabody High School and the University of Pittsburgh, Maazel was as much a product of our city as the steel that poured from our mills and framed the concert halls of our nation. His legacy as a musician and scholar will play on in the memory of the city that shaped him, and which he ably served as the conductor and guide of its magnificent symphony orchestra."

“I want to thank every city worker, from Public Works to Public Safety, for giving up parts of their holiday weekend to help make Pittsburgh shine,” Mayor William Peduto said. “Just as importantly, I want to give my thanks to the many thousands of residents from inside and outside the city limits who did their part, as usual, to make this such a memorable weekend.”

Mayor William Peduto announced the first phases of the city’s new protected bike lane program, to be built in Schenley Park, Greenfield and Downtown. More lanes will follow around the city in partnership with People for Bikes and the Green Lane Project.

The city’s first protected two-way lanes will be built from Schenley Plaza to Anderson Playground in Schenley Park; along Saline Street between Greenfield Avenue and Swinburne Street (Panther Hollow Trail) in Greenfield; and on Penn Avenue from 11th Street to Stanwix Avenue Downtown.

Applications have been extended for the fall 2014 Love Your Block grant award program. Applications will now be available until Friday, July 18. In addition, there will be an informational session Wednesday, July 9, to assist interested applicants. First-time applicants and past grantees are encouraged to attend.

"I want to thank Gov. Tom Corbett for his support of laws that would adapt current state regulations to allow ride-sharing companies to grow.

I am talking with leaders in the state Legislature to swiftly address this problem.

When I met early this year with the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Robert Powelson, he assured me he supported putting temporary rules in place that would allow these companies to operate. We now know that is not the case.

Pennsylvania needs to embrace innovation. With the direct engagement of the governor we can secure changes from the Legislature to allow these innovative companies to exist in the state.”

The City of Pittsburgh launched Pgh Dataforum as a platform for Pittsburghers to identify what data they want to see and why. Powered by Engage Pittsburgh, Pgh Dataforum is designed to encourage residents, community groups and researchers to tell the story of how city data can support their projects or interests. Pgh Dataforum allows residents to connect with each other as well as to city staff. The site also includes a high-level listing of the types of information held by the City of Pittsburgh.

Participation in the city of Pittsburgh’s Summer Youth Employment Program has almost doubled over last year, and a task force named by Mayor William Peduto is working on expanding the program further in 2015.

At the start of the program Monday 521 youths were participating, up from 319 in the summer of 2013. More than 1,300 applied for positions this year, however, so a Mayoral Task Force on Summer Youth Employment Opportunities named by the Mayor is seeking ways to to give all qualified applicants a job opportunity in the future.

Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood is poised for rebirth with the award of $30 million in funding the U.S. Department of Housing and Economic Development, Mayor William Peduto announced today.

After competing against 40 other cities, HUD said Pittsburgh is the winner of a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative implementation grant that could transform the long-struggling community, strengthen its ties with neighboring East Liberty and provide new mixed-income housing units. The estimated $400 million overall development will lead to the construction of 350 mixed-income housing units, support 2,000 jobs and create one of the greenest housing developments in the United States.

The City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership will host a World Cup Watch Party in Market Square on Tuesday, July 1. Festivities begin at 3:30 p.m. prior to the 4:00 p.m. kickoff between the United States and Belgium.

At the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting last weekend in Dallas, the city of Pittsburgh won a $75,000 grant to support low and moderate income housing, and accolades for its work on climate protection.

"I want to thank City Council, my finance team, the city's Act 47 coordinators, Governor Corbett, Secretary Walker, and his team at the Department of Community and Economic Development for all their long hours and hard work leading up to today's Council approval of the amended Act 47 plan. While this has been a long and difficult road toward financial recovery for our city, we still have much work to do to solve the city's long-term capital, debt and pension needs, and to relieve undue burdens on city taxpayers. Together, we can implement a final recovery strategy to address our present budget needs and solve these issues for future generations of Pittsburghers."

Under the order the new Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will pre-approve most departmental expenditures; the Department of Finance will study all trust funds and petty cash accounts, and recommend their closure if necessary; OMB will pre-approve all personnel transactions; and OMB will use best practices to write financial policies on non-union overtime, departmental spending and cash management procedures.

Pittsburgh is the cultural and economic engine for our entire tri-state region and hosting concerts is part that tradition. But there is no reason that large events like the one Saturday on the North Shore should force city taxpayers to bear the burden for outsized amounts of garbage removal and public safety response."

Mayor William Peduto ordered that a long-delayed payroll implementation project be re-bid, and that the Office of Municipal Investigations perform a full investigation of the handling of the prior contract.

This weekend’s Luke Bryan concert at Heinz Field is expected to attract tens of thousands of people to the North Shore. The City is working with ALCO Parking Corp and Heinz Field management to ensure a safe and clean environment for all to enjoy.

The task force of educational stakeholders -- including elected officials, administrators, union officials, parents, students and others -- will meet four times to discuss ways to strengthen public schools across the many neighborhoods of the city. It is tasked with issuing the Mayor recommendations on school issues in September.

Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto will officiate his first wedding, a historic group ceremony for 20 couples, welcoming Marriage Equality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The civic ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 15, in the Council Chambers of the City-County Building.

Immediately following the ceremony, the newlyweds are invited to participate with Mayor Peduto in the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh’s Pride March at noon. The route will lead the group directly to a private wedding reception for newlyweds and their guests hosted by the Fairmont Pittsburgh.

Mayor William Peduto and acting Public Safety Director Stephen A. Bucar announced the upcoming public phases of the city’s search for a new Pittsburgh Police chief, including six public meetings and a site for online remarks.

Bucar, who started work June 9, will lead the search with Mayor Peduto and write the standards profiling the best applicants for the position. The search – done in conjunction with the public-private Talent City initiative – will also be informed by large-scale public participation. The first public meeting will be June 26.

Mayor William Peduto will present a Pittsburgh case study June 5 to the Mayor’s Institute on City Design in Louisville, Ky., where as the Institute’s guest he will receive expert analysis of plans for the Strip District.

The National League of Cities (NLC) has recognized Mayor William Peduto and the city of Pittsburgh for recent completion of key health and wellness goals for Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC).

LMCTC is a major component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s comprehensive Let’s Move! initiative, which is dedicated to solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. LMCTC calls upon local elected officials to adopt sustainable and holistic policies that improve communities’ access to healthy affordable food and opportunities for physical activity through five goal areas.

With more than 100 community leaders in attendance, Mayor William Peduto on Wednesday launched Welcoming Pittsburgh, an effort to improve quality of life and economic prosperity for immigrants and native born residents alike.

The initiative is part of Welcoming America, a national and grassroots-driven collaborative that promotes mutual respect and cooperation between foreign-born and U.S.-born Americans.

There will not be any refuse, bulk waste or recycling collection on Monday, May 26, 2014 in observance of Memorial Day.

The schedule will proceed as follows: if your scheduled day of collection is Monday, May 26th, you will be serviced on Tuesday, May 27th. This will continue through the end of the week with Friday’s normally scheduled collection being picked up on Saturday May 31, 2014.

May 20, 2014 - Mayor William Peduto's statement on a federal judge ruling Pennsylvania's restrictive marriage laws to be unconstitutional:

“I am overjoyed by the judge’s decision today, and can’t wait to throw open the doors of the Mayor’s Office to honor marriages of all couples. I would be thrilled to make the marriage of an LGBT couple the first one I officiate as Mayor.”

The city of Pittsburgh has signed the last remaining public safety contract with the paramedics union, which was ratified Friday by membership of Local 1 of the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics.

The contract includes salary increases to medics that were authorized under the city’s last Act 47 recovery plan.

On Saturday, May 17th, Mayor William Peduto will declare May 2014 “Arthritis Awareness Month” in the City of Pittsburgh and present a proclamation of recognition to 14-year-old juvenile arthritis patient and advocate, Rylee Ann Laya, for her continued efforts to find a cure for arthritis.

The City of Pittsburgh has announced a partnership with Nextdoor (www.nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods, to improve citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.

Led by Mayor Peduto, this integration with Nextdoor will enable the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Public Works to use Nextdoor to build stronger, safer communities with the help of Pittsburgh residents. The City departments and Nextdoor neighborhoods will be able to work together to increase safety and strengthen virtual neighborhood watch.

Mayor William Peduto announced he is hiring FBI Special Agent Stephen A. Bucar as Pittsburgh’s new Public Safety Director.

Bucar has lately overseen the analysis of information associated with domestic and international terrorism investigations for field offices across the United States as a Supervisory Special Agent Section Chief in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division in Washington, D.C. He was also formerly an assistant special agent in charge of a branch within the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, the largest office of its kind in the nation.

On May 13 the city’s Act 47 coordinators are releasing the latest long-term look at the city’s finances, and preliminary discussions on creating a 5-year budget indicate years of budget shortfalls. The city's average $20 million budget gap is actually $60 million annually including the real costs for capital, debt and pension needs.

Working together over the next two months, the city, its residents and its fiscal overseers will write a new plan to take Pittsburgh out of distressed status, fix its finances for the next generation, and spur a full reorganization of city government.

This Wednesday night, May 14, Mayor William Peduto and his top staff will meet personally with residents to hear -- and act upon -- their ideas and concerns about City government issues. The event is from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Council Chambers, 5th Floor, City-County Building.

New traffic signal technology is coming to the city’s Baum-Centre corridor that extends Pittsburgh’s leadership in commuter, pedestrian and environmentally friendly traffic research, Mayor William Peduto announced today.

Working with Carnegie Mellon’s University Transportation Center, Traffic21 and partners in the local foundation community, the city is extending its cutting-edge system of real-time traffic signals that adapt instantly to shifting traffic conditions. A new $1.8 million pilot project will further test and strengthen the Pittsburgh system, providing first-of-its-kind smart traffic technology from the city’s eastern edge to nearly Downtown.

Mayor William Peduto’s administration is providing free public Wi-Fi to visitors on two floors of the City-County Building, as part of efforts to make government more welcoming and productive for visitors.

Internet access is available on public areas of the 5th and 6th floors of the main city government building, which houses Council Chambers and offices for the Mayor and City Council. The access is provided weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In conjunction with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s “Project Power Play” program, Mayor William Peduto announced plans today for a new outdoor dek hockey rink to be built in Bloomfield Park.

Two years after adoption of the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan, Version 2.0, Pittsburgh Climate Initiative (PCI) and Mayor William Peduto are pleased to announce that 23 of the 35 Community chapter recommendations have been completed or are in progress. More than thirty local organizations are currently involved in implementing these recommendations. All of the recommendations in the plan relate directly to actions or policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Pittsburgh.

posted 4/16/14 @ 4:16 pm

City of Pittsburgh to Become First Live Well Allegheny Community

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Mayor William Peduto will be joined by Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of the Allegheny County Health Department and Valerie McDonald Roberts, Chief Urban Affairs Office in announcing Wednesday that the City of Pittsburgh has been designated as the first Live Well Allegheny Community.

The community celebration launch of “Live Well Pittsburgh” will be held at the Thelma Lovette YMCA and will also include an Imagination Playground, light appetizers by Bar Marco using local ingredients that are healthy, and Citiparks bicycle-powered fruit smoothie stationary bikes. A number of community partners and wellness organizations will also be on hand to lend their support to the effort.

Pittsburgh has been rated the 5th best city in the world for long-term real estate investment in a new study by Grosvenor Research.

The “Resilient Cities” report from the international property development company ranks the world’s top 50 cities on climate, environment, resources, infrastructure, and community affairs.

Pittsburgh is rated the 5th most resilient city in the world, following Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago. Grosvenor -- a 300-year-old development firm based in London -- uses the report to study the long-term stability and prosperity of cities in guiding long-term property investment.

This Monday evening Mayor William Peduto and his top staff will meet personally with residents to hear -- and act upon -- their ideas and concerns about City government issues.

During the “Mayor’s Night Out” any resident who wants to talk can meet one-on-one with Mayor Peduto at a City recreation center in Beltzhoover, and he will direct them to the appropriate administrator for follow-up. Later in the month he will hold a “Mayor’s Night In” where people from around the city can come to his offices for similar consultations.

Mayor William Peduto announced today the hiring of Ray Gastil as Director of the Department of City Planning.

Gastil, 55, was formerly Planning Director for Seattle and Director of the Manhattan office of the New York City Department of City Planning, as well as an educator and consultant. He is the latest hire by the Mayor through the City's partnership with Talent City, the initiative created by the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Institute of Politics to bring transparency and rigorous talent searching to City hiring practices.

The City of Pittsburgh needs to invest in long-term and systematic changes to its roads and other infrastructure, Mayor William Peduto said Wednesday in Brookline, partially through initiatives in the City’s final Act 47 recovery plan.

In the meantime City crews will do what they can with minimal funding for road upgrades and work to respond to all pothole repair requests within three business days.

Mayor Peduto joined more than 1,000 mayors across the country for the second annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, a nationwide bipartisan effort that highlights the impact of national service in tackling city problems.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a $476,031 Recycling Performance Grant after City and private haulers together recycled more than 59,528 tons of residential and commercial material.

Mayor William Peduto appointed 45 individuals to serve on 11 boards, authorities and commissions in the City of Pittsburgh today. The appointments represent the most diverse class of board, authority, and commission appointments in the history of the City of Pittsburgh. Fifty-five percent of the appointees are women and approximately one quarter of the appointees are African-American.

Mayor William Peduto’s Severance Incentive Program, or SIP, concluded Friday with 65 city employees taking advantage of the severance benefit. This represents a 51% participation rate by salary, almost exactly the 50% rate predicted by the Peduto administration when the program was announced in January.

“We have an incredible opportunity to bring changes to this government as a result of this program,” Mayor Peduto said. “These employees have been dedicated, hard working members of our team who will definitely be missed; but we must take this opportunity to diversify our workforce and to bring in new ways of thinking about the challenges this city faces.”

Mayor Peduto applauds Gov. Tom Corbett's call for a new long-term financial plan for the city through the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act , which will enable the Mayor to craft a final five-year financial strategy that gets Pittsburgh out of budget trouble once and for all.

PITTSBURGH, PA - (March 13, 2014) "I pause with sadness today to remember the fatal Hill District fire 10 years ago that took two Pittsburgh firefighters from us, injured 29 others, and destroyed a more than century-old church on Wylie Avenue. I remember vividly that day seeing smoke rising in the blue sky, only to find out later the terrible news.

As the Gospel read at the Funeral Mass for Charles Brace and Richard Stefanakis in March 2004 said, ‘There is no greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend.’ As we celebrate again the rebirth of Ebenezer Church after a horrible day 10 years ago, it is a time for our whole city to reflect upon the emergency responders who are acting as heroes every day."

The Department of Public Works deployed 45 trucks overnight to plow primary and secondary streets and will put out 65 trucks and tractors starting with the 6 a.m. shift today. Road treatment materials are being reserved for bridges, curves, hills and intersections.

As of 6 a.m. Pittsburgh Public Schools were running on time.

Public Works plans to plow more secondary and side streets today, and conditions should improve with daylight. However, the National Weather Service predicts temperatures will drop to minus-1 degrees overnight Monday into Tuesday, so that may lead to refreezing of some streets. Sunlight Tuesday morning should help conditions greatly.

PITTSBURGH, PA - "Pittsburgh, and the world, lost a broadcasting legend today. Starting in the late 1940s at the station that later became WAMO, Porky give many R&B performers their first airplay and notice, and went on to become a visionary champion of rock and roll. I just saw Porky last weekend, and whatever we called him -- Daddio of the Raddio, Bossman, Your Platter Pushin' Poppa -- I am honored to have called him a friend."

posted 3/02/14 @ 5:15 pm

Afternoon snow storm update, Sunday, March 2

After a relatively intense period of snowfall late this morning and afternoon, accumulation has reached approximately 3 inches as of 3 p.m. Snowfall will continue on and off until 3 a.m. tomorrow morning and the city could receive an additional 3 inches in that time. Lighter snowfall could continue after that point into the late morning or early afternoon.

The Department of Public Works currently has 45 vehicles plowing and treating roads. At this point all primaries have been plowed once and Public Works is going back to plow some of them again. After this, Public Works will turn its attention to secondary roads. However, primaries and emergency routes remain the city's top priority and if heavy snowfall returns, vehicles will be diverted back to primaries.

Temperatures Tuesday are forecast to be just above freezing and to rise every day for the remainder of the week. This will help immensely to melt the snow and ensure that roads are drivable early in the week.

Trash collection will occur as normally scheduled tomorrow, so residents with a Monday pickup should place their trash at the curb as they normally do. If for some reason the weather does not permit Environmental Services to pick up all of the trash tomorrow, they will add the remaining trash collection routes to their Tuesday schedule.

posted 3/02/14 @ 3:15 pm

Morning snow storm update, Sunday, March 2

The weather forecast has changed considerably over the last 48 hours and the city is looking at a snow event that is starting now, builds up momentum this afternoon and ends early Monday afternoon, with accumulations of 4 to 6 inches total over that time. Still, the forecast and the storm can change quickly and the Department of Public Works remains at the ready for a much larger snow event should the city receive one.

Public Works crews are pre-treating bridges, primary hills and curves and will soon begin plowing. There were 24 vehicles in service this morning with others poised to join the response when necessary.

Road conditions will become difficult this afternoon and travelers are asked to use extreme caution as they drive city streets. Roads will remain slippery throughout today's snow event and into Monday. Should accumulations exceed forecasted amounts, travelers are asked to stay off the roads unless it is absolutely necessary.

The city's 311 call center will be closed today but open at 8 a.m. Monday morning. Residents are advised that it could take 24-48 hours after the snow has stopped falling to clear city streets and the city will wait to respond to individual requests for snow plowing service until that time.

Mayor William Peduto announced Friday that the Urban Redevelopment Authority has reached an agreement with the Buncher Co. that will provide an opportunity to evaluate alternative development strategies to save and re-use the historic produce terminal building in the Strip District.

The Department of Public Works is preparing for a predicted 6 to 12 inches of snowfall starting Sunday night, and warning residents of possibly treacherous road conditions come Monday.

As of Friday morning, light snow was expected during the day Sunday with larger amounts hitting the area after 6 p.m. Sunday evening public works crews will begin working in 12-hour shifts with 50 trucks dispatched overnight and 65 trucks, including tractors affixed with plows, dispatched early Monday morning.

This is currently rated a Level 3 storm, meaning an emphasis on addressing emergency and primary routes, followed by secondary routes.

In a historic move, Mayor William Peduto today named a 21-member task force charged with examining public education in the City of Pittsburgh, and issuing recommendations to strengthen our public schools and surrounding communities.

Mayor William Peduto today announced the hiring of five new employees in the Mayor's Office, overseeing nonprofit and faith-based initiatives, sustainability, communications, and public safety information.

Mayor William Peduto announced today his selection of four new directors to lead key City of Pittsburgh departments. These selections were made after applicants applied through Talent City and passed rigorous screenings, interviews and evaluations. Final selections were made by the Mayor as he continues to build his leadership team.

Pittsburgh City Councilman William Peduto was sworn in as the 60th Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh on Monday, the sixth of January 2014 at 1 pm at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.